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Saturday, June 22, 2013

RFA 8 results: Pettis wins quick, Palmer edges Downing

by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Jun 22, 2013 at 12:25 am ET

serio-pettis-1.jpgAt just 19 years old, flyweight Sergio Pettis (8-0) may soon be ready for the bigtime. "The Phenom" needed just 51 seconds to rack up a win over fellow striker Dillard Pegg (5-2).

The bout served as the main event of Friday night's Resurrection Fighting Alliance 8 event, which took place at The Rave/Eagles Club in Milwaukee, Wisc. The night's main card aired on AXS TV.

Pegg stepped in on late notice to replace longtime veteran Jeff Curran, who withdrew from the fight to look after his family, especially two young children, after their family dog was involved in an accident that threatened the animal's life.

Both tae kwon do black belts came out firing heavy shots to open the fight, and the fast=paced affair looked like it was destined for a knockout finish. It was, and it didn't take long.

As the pair engaged in the pocket, Pettis slipped a left hand and delivered a crisp right to the jaw. Pegg crumbled, and the teenager pounced with finishing blows that saw him claim the RFA's inaugural flyweight belt in just 51 seconds.

In the night's co-feature, Team Alpha Male product Lance Palmer (7-0) claimed RFA's featherweight title by unseating champ Jared Downing (9-2) in a hard-fought, razor-thin affair.

Downing showed capable takedown defense in the opening frame, staying on his feet and looking to strike against the wrestling standout. A crisp right hand did draw blood over Palmer's eye, but he fought on until the bell.

It was Downing who took the fight to the floor in the second frame, and while Palmer threatened the arm and briefly transitioned to the back, he was unable to truly seize the momentum. Still, it made for a tight round to score.

Stymied in the grappling game, Palmer settled for a striking attack in the third. Effective as he moved forward, Palmer's aggression saw him score points for most of the frame, though Downing scored a late takedown to try and make a claim for the round. Palmer also received a warning in the frame for landing his third low blow of the fight, though none of them landed with much power.

Palmer opened the championship rounds with aggression, firing heavy leather as he walked forward. A pair of takedowns helped him put a stamp on a round that saw Downing seem to fade as time wound down.

Palmer appeared the fresher fighter in the final frame, and he took the action to Downing throughout the frame. Unfortunately for Palmer, he landed another low blow in the final seconds of the fight and had a point taken away, putting the result in doubt. In the end, it wouldn't matter, as he was awarded the belt with split-decision scores of 46-48, 48-46 and 48-46.

Munhoz, Rhodes impress in prelims

In a featured bantamweight contest, undefeated Brazilian Pedro Munhoz (8-0) kept his perfect record intact with a surgical finish of Mitch Jackson (19-4).

Munhoz, a Black House fighter, struggled to get the fight to the floor in the early going, but he was more than capable on the feet, picking apart his opponent with technical striking and slicing him up with elbows and knees from the Thai clinch. As Jackson began to tire, Munhoz did eventually bring him to the floor, where he secure a fight-ending guillotine choke with 11 second left in the opening round.

Munhoz is now expected to fight for the Resurrection Fighting Alliance bantamweight title in August.

Welterweight Mike Rhodes (5-1) delivered a "Knockout of the Night" contender with a violent first-round finish of Benjamin Smith (4-2). Timing his opponent's attack to perfection, Rhodes delivered a powerful counter right that sent his opponent crashing to the floor and appeared to dislodge a tooth in the process. The end came just 56 seconds into the fight.

In early featherweight action, Dan Moret (5-0) earned a unanimous-decision won over Jose Pacheco (7-4-1). While there was back-and-forth action for most of the 15-minute affair, Moret consistently utilized his length on the feet and worked to dominant positions on the floor to earn a unanimous-decision win, 30-27 on all three judges' cards.

In the evening's first main-card contest, Zak Ottow (4-1) survived some early trouble to score a first-round submission over Matthew Gauthier (4-2) in a 175-pound catchweight bout.

It was Gauthier who looked to finish the fight early with a tight guillotine choke, but Ottow survived the hold, transitioned to mount and locked in a fight-ending arm-triangle choke while in the dominant position.

RFA 8 results include:
  • Sergio Pettis def. Dillard "Joe" Pegg via knockout (punches) - Round 1, 0:51 - to claim inaugural flyweight title
  • Lance Palmer def. Jared Downing via split decision (46-48, 48-46, 48-46) - to claim RFA featherweight title
  • Pedro Munhoz def. Mitch Jackson via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 1, 4:49
  • Mike Rhodes def. Benjamin Smith via knockout (punches) - Round 1, 0:56
  • Dan Moret def. Jose Pacheco via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Zak Ottow def. Matthew Gauthier via submission (arm-triangle choke) - Round 1, 3:07
For more on RFA 8, check out the MMA Events section of the site.

(Pictured: Sergio Pettis)

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